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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29408094">we are the nightmare gods of these pathetic lifeforms</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doceo_Percepto/pseuds/Doceo_Percepto'>Doceo_Percepto</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sp00py/pseuds/Sp00py'>Sp00py</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Little Nightmares (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Fix-It, Gen, Reality Warping, mono six friendship forever, six has hunger, spoilers for LN2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 10:47:47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,760</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29408094</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Doceo_Percepto/pseuds/Doceo_Percepto, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sp00py/pseuds/Sp00py</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes all it takes is one mistake to change everything.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Mono &amp; Six (Little Nightmares)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>440</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Mono remembered so little about himself. All he knew was this door, this strange door that always called him. There was something behind it, something he needed to find… something he needed to do. So little was familiar, except that door, and - </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Her</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He could have sworn he’d never met her before, but when they locked gazes in the Hunter’s cabin (and then she shoved him over, but he didn’t mind), there was a jolt, a </span>
  <em>
    <span>you!, </span>
  </em>
  <span>a warmth. Six. That’s the name she whispered to him, and he smiled, because it felt a lot like home - even if he couldn't remember what home was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was relentless and brave. Driven, as he was, by </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She knew how to survive, and she knew the way. The way to what… Mono wasn’t sure. The more he followed her, the more he thought he might know the way, too. It was hard to say why. He tread paths that he was certain he had tread before. Skirted around turns, ducked behind boxes, leapt gaps with practiced ease (most of the time - sometimes he tripped, or misstepped, and Six laughed at him). The point was, he gained conviction that somehow, someway, he was retracing steps he had taken before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Together they killed the Hunter. While it made something niggle uncomfortably in him (he’d killed a man, even if that man was a monster), Six laughed about it afterward. Those sorts of things didn’t bother her at all. They fled the Teacher, and killed the Doctor. Mono didn’t think he had killed quite so many things before meeting Six, although he wasn’t positive. It was hard to be sure about a past that he couldn't recall. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Six was strange, though, that was for sure. She did things that unsettled him, sometimes, though he didn’t let those thoughts linger long. Why should he? There was some charge, some energy thrumming about the two of them, that what they were doing was what they were supposed to be doing. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Meant</span>
  </em>
  <span> to do. They both knew something, deep down, about where they were going and why, even if neither could articulate it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When they held hands, or hid together, or communicated without saying a single word, he felt it stronger than ever. Mono and Six. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Them</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Around her, he found it easy to smile during the good times, the breaks where they could play or joke and laugh. During dark, frightening times, he knew he could count on her. She’d always make sure he was okay, she’d always catch him when he jumped. He learned to trust her in everything, and hoped she felt the same. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then the Thin Man took her. Rage and fear boiled over. He should have done something. He should have stopped him. Except - he’d been hunched in skull-splitting pain, subdued by the Transmission. He’d been helpless. It wasn’t the first time he’d been crippled in agony from it, pulled as if possessed, but this time, with the Thin Man’s proximity, it dug deeper into him, it…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Woke something up. A memory, but not the kind he could remember clearly. Rather a </span>
  <em>
    <span>sense.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Mono clawed his way out from the under bed as soon as the pain was gone, and bolted back to the TV. Even if it cost him his life, he was going to find Six. He was going to get her back. He slammed his palm to the screen, and willed that sense to life. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He knew he could do it, because vaguely, he knew he had done it before. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Through the TV he went. Another, another, another. With each one, the sense got stronger. In with it crawled more murky recollections. More old feelings, older than he was, and images half-recalled. Buildings cowing to his will. People like puppets, only instead of towering above him, they barely reached half his height. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No, no, no…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Through train carts he fled from the Thin Man and from the icy thoughts crawling up his spine. Even as he fled, he remembered pursuing a small, strange boy. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No, no -</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>When he collapsed in the street, weary and wounded from the train crash, and the Thin Man appeared, Mono knew he couldn't run anymore. Couldn't hide, either. He didn’t have the energy for it, and it was time he faced himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mono summoned his last dregs of willpower, fixed a burning glare upon the Thin Man, and raised his hand to stop the Transmission. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m going to do better than you did. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Who cared how many times this cycle had repeated? A cycle of hurt, of corruption, of unfairness. Mono was going to be different. He knew, now, the truth. He knew what he was, and he was going to face it, save Six, and change things. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The fight between two minds and two identical powers sapped at Mono’s strength, but he kept struggling, kept attacking, spurred onwards by sheer determination. The Thin Man crumpled, an easier fight than Mono had anticipated, and then Mono had a single minded purpose: find Six, and save her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Through the labyrinthine pathways inside the TV he traveled, following her song, until he found her. Six. Monstrous and distorted by the Transmission, but still Six. How long had she spent here? What horrors had she endured, while Mono rushed to save her (he shouldn’t have lost her in the first place, he shouldn’t have opened that door…). But he was here now. He’d fix this, even if she hated him for not trying harder to grab her. If only he’d pushed through the pain, or grabbed her hand and pulled her under the bed. She’d been so scared, reaching futilely toward Mono while he cowered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She came when he called, great bulk moving awkwardly in the small room. It made him sick to think of betraying that trust when he realized what he had to do. She had a music box playing, like the one he’d first seen her with, and hunched protectively over it, as though she was stuck back in time, back in that cabin. They couldn’t leave if she wouldn’t leave that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mono picked up the mallet, crept around Six, who didn’t push him away (because she </span>
  <em>
    <span>trusted </span>
  </em>
  <span>him), and smashed the box. The world flared, warped, went dark.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Again. Again. Mono was crying. Every time he called she cringed away like she expected to get hit, every time he destroyed the one thing she seemed to care about, she screamed like he was destroying her. It hurt. It hurt --</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then it was over. Six ran by him, little feet pitter-pattering as the world throbbed in fleshy, pinkish tones and eyes blinked to life around them. Mono scrambled after her, far less agile and far, far too exhausted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She ran. He ran after. The bridge crumbled. She caught him, yet again. They were going to make it out. They’d won.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Six let him fall.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Mono jerked awake. He remembered so little about himself. All he knew was this door, this strange door, and… Six. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Together, they killed the Hunter, fled the Teacher. Killed the Doctor, too. There was something strange about her, for sure. But he was certain they were supposed to be together, fighting for some mutual cause, fighting for.. something. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Except then the Thin Man took her.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m going to do better than you did. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Mono was going to change things. He was going to save Six, and break the cycle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he raced after her, their exit to safety right in front of their eyes, and her ready to catch him, he thought, </span>
  <em>
    <span>we did it. We stopped the cycle.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Six let him fall.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Mono remembered so little about himself. But there was this door…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Six, Hunter, Teacher, Doctor. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m going to do better than you did. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>We did it. We stopped the cycle. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Six let him fall.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Mono remembered so little about himself. About a door…? About a girl he hadn’t even met yet. Hunter. Teacher. Doctor. Six, stolen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Run, survive, escape. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Do better</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mono leapt. Six caught him. She always did, and he wondered how he ever survived without her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But then she didn’t pull him up. When he locked eyes with her, he saw some realization dawning on her face, draining it of color. What -- why wasn’t she </span>
  <em>
    <span>pulling</span>
  </em>
  <span>? The world was crumbling around them, turning into pulsating flesh and blinking eyes. They didn’t have time for thinking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Six?” he asked, tugging a little to break her of her stupor. She didn’t move, but for the tilting of her head, as though considering something. He couldn’t get up himself, and his palms were getting sweaty.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Do better than he did. </span>
  </em>
  <span>The thought was receding, like the end of a tunnel in a dream that he could never reach. Not a door, but freedom from the cycle, slipping through his fingers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mono’s hand slipped free. He panicked and swung his other arm up, latching onto Six’s yellow sleeve. An imperfect grip on a slick material, but he caught. Six shrieked as her other hand slipped, sending her toppling over the edge. Mono hadn’t -- he just reacted -- She deserved to leave -- Six, no --</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Together they fell.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The portal flickered into darkness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And they didn’t die. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The ground they hit was not ground. Mono bounced up into Six, and they both rolled away from each other, nursing bruised faces. Mono recovered faster, which was the first sign that something was wrong. Six always got up first, if she even fell down at all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He crawled forward, trying to ignore the unnatural squish of the ground and occasional rolling movement as he stepped on a closed eye.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Six?” he asked tentatively, almost afraid to talk to her. Her expression had been icy and indecipherable when she tried to pull him up. Mono didn’t know what was wrong, but it scared him, and he was already so terrified of where they were now, he couldn’t handle more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her shoulders twitched, eliciting a stronger cry from Mono. He set a hand on her arm, trying to get a look at her face. She continued to shake, and, oh god, were those tears?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Six!” he said more frantically, grabbing both of her shoulders. “Are you hurt -- ack!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shoved Mono in the chest, knocking him back, then ran away into the darkness of blinking eyes and throbbing lumps.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mono ran after her. What else was he going to do, with the walls closing in, the eyes burning into his brain? He didn’t want to be alone, and she -- something was wrong with Six. He had to help her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hate you!” she screamed, as though they weren’t trapped in some nightmare web of flesh and eyes. She was getting farther and farther, until the ground rolled and she toppled back. Mono caught her before she could roll too far.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Six, please! I’m sorry!” Mono wished with all his heart he hadn’t grabbed her sleeve, hadn’t dragged her into this. He hoped she could hear the heartbreak in his apology, as he felt his own tears rise and choke his voice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her chest was heaving, face splotchy, hands curled into claws that tried to scratch at Mono’s face, but soon came to rest in the lapels of his coat. She cried more brokenly than he could handle, and though Mono had no idea why she hated him, he wouldn’t let her suffer alone. He  wrapped his arms around her, pulling Six’s weakly struggling body into as tight of a hug as he could manage.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He squeezed his eyes shut, pretending they weren’t being stared at. Pretending they weren’t trapped here as the walls closed in on them. Six’s fighting gave way to wracking sobs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Mono muttered into her raincoat, rocking her back and forth. His tears hit her raincoat and rolled off to splatter on the disgusting, fleshy floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Six suddenly shoved at Mono, knocking him over and scrambling away. With a shout, he climbed to his feet and chased after her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Six hit a wall of eyes and began clawing at them, as though trying to scale the flesh with nothing but her nails.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Six! Six!” Mono cried, running after her. “You’re gonna hurt yourself!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He dragged her away from the wall, and they both fell again, like fighting on the deck of a ship heaving in a storm. She should be able to get him off. She should be strong and vicious. Six just slumped against him, hood slipping from her head so she couldn’t even hide behind it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Want out,” she muttered into his chest, fists beating pathetically against him. He’d never, </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> seen her so distraught and irrational. No matter the danger, Six had always been calm and level -- until he’d found her here, all twisted up by the tower, desperately protecting a music box. It must have been so awful, what she’d endured. Now, because of Mono, she was trapped all over again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mono stared up at an eye larger than his entire body. It blinked innocently down at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’ll get out,” he assured Six with a sudden vehemence, fingers carding through her hair. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>You’ll</span>
  </em>
  <span> get out. I’ll make sure of it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Six was still. Not crying, not fighting, though her scraped up fingers were curled in a deathgrip on his lapel. Mono glanced down and saw her dark eyes glaring at nothing through her hair. He let his hands fall away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At her own pace, Six sat back. Her face had returned to the normal calm Mono had come to expect of her, but her entire body radiated displeasure at him. Mono had no clue how he’d ever make up what he’d done, if they even made it out of here alive.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was the priority. Survive. Mono climbed to his feet and held his hand out for Six to take. She just glared at it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know you’re not happy right now,” he said, “but look around us! We… we can deal with that later. We need to get out. Then you can -- you can leave, if you want. I won’t follow you or be mad, or anything.” His voice choked up at the thought of Six leaving him, but he pushed through that fear and wiggled his hand. “I’ll understand.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reluctantly, Six took it. Whatever they did, Mono wanted to do it together. It was his fault Six was here. Now it was his responsibility to make it better. The question was how. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He pulled her forward with him, if only to lend the idea he knew what he was doing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The eyes crowded close, watching and judging. Every blink was wet and loud, every movement magnified and vile. He didn’t know what they were looking for, as they roved between him and Six, or what they wanted. Six hated them, too, and it kept her close to him when it was obvious she would rather be anywhere but, at least. Mono squeezed her hand as they crawled through increasingly narrowing gaps that pulsed like blood vessels.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eventually, there’d be nowhere to crawl through. Nowhere to go. What had once been a vast, empty void had filled so quickly, like a sink ready to overflow. And they were just two very small children about to drown. He just wanted to cover his eyes and pretend they weren’t there. If it had been only him down here, he would have given in and done just that, curled up small and shaking. But Six was here. Six needed him, even if she hated him for dragging her into this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mono did his best to ignore the eyes, despite the faint memories of their eternal gaze latched onto him as he grew and the walls reformed and --</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The walls reformed. Had Mono done that when he fell? Though he knew how the story played out, generally, the details were so foggy. He didn’t know if he had caused them to recede and reform, or if they had simply chosen to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He supposed there was only one way to find out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hang on,” he said to Six, letting her hand go as much as he didn’t want to. She let it fall to her side, making no attempt to keep hers in his.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mono tried not to let that bother him as he focused, dredging up the feeling of the world bending to his whims. The flesh around them throbbed, slid closer, and Six crowded closer, fingers curling into the fabric at his back. He hated this fear, this dread. He thought about her reaching for him, screaming as the Thin Man snatched her away. Mono had been weak with terror and heartache and skull-splitting pain. He never wanted to see Six so scared again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The eyes pushed, and Mono pushed right back, hands held up like an orchestra conductor, tracing those threads of transmissions zipping through the air, weaving them into walls and doorways. Holding the flesh back, creating a path, shaping the world.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The noises of flesh receded, the grinding of wood and metal stopped. Mono’s arms fell, weak and shaky, and he took a few deep, steadying breaths, afraid to see what he’d done. Hoping he didn’t make it worse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mono opened one eye warily, then the other. A bag was on the floor (it was wood! Mono could see the cracks, feel the grain!) in front of him, and Six was no longer at his back. She’d skittered several feet away and crouched down, hands over her head. Mono reached immediately for her, then hesitated, and turned instead to the bag.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was his. The one he’d left floating toward some drain or another, eye holes and old stains and everything. Mono had no clue why it was there, but he slipped it back over his head. The muffled humming of the transmission, the darkness on his periphery instead of eyes or ghosts. It all felt right. Safe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he turned to Six again, she was looking up at him, squinting suspiciously. Which Mono understood. He had no clue what was going on or what he was doing or </span>
  <em>
    <span>how</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He’d be suspicious, too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” he said quietly, holding his hand out to her. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Please don’t run. Please don’t run.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked up and around, then at him. Six stood and walked past him. When Mono didn’t follow, she stopped and gestured for him. Not quite what he wanted, but Mono would take it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He trotted a little to catch up, still marveling at the world he -- made? Reverted? His fingertips tingled like when he’d stood against the Thin Man, letting his instincts take over, modulating until they synced up, until the world bowed to his whims. It had been such a rush, and terrifying, dragging what he wanted to him no matter what, destroying that which stood in his way. For so long Mono had been victim and prey.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All he wanted was to be happy and safe with Six, but even Mono couldn’t change the world that much.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <span>Six ran ahead with that single-minded determination he had missed. And Mono followed. The world folded and unfolded before them, neither entirely mad tower nor fleshy entity. The high of his abilities, whatever they were, was fading away into fatigue. Their bubble of reality was growing smaller, and still Six ran forward.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you looking for?” Mono asked, feeling useless as she paused at doors, then picked one seemingly at random. She must be following some scent or sound Mono couldn’t sense.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Six glanced back, before disappearing across the threshold. Mono hesitated. Instead of the usual fond eye-rolls or a deadpan, Six looked haggard. She had bags under her eyes, and, now that Mono was paying more attention, an exhausted, frenetic energy to her movements.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wasn’t picking paths for any reason. It really was at random. Six was panicking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Six?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She ran through another door. Another. Flying down stairs. Another. Mono stumbled. The walls pulsated, the voids flashed with eyes and bubbles of flesh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Six!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mono dredged up a final spurt of energy and jumped after Six, wrapping his arms around her from behind. He squeezed her close as her breathing picked up, and dragged her to the ground with him as his legs gave out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop,” Mono gasped. “Stop running, </span>
  <em>
    <span>please.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>If she tried to leave again, Mono wouldn’t be able to stop her. Six would disappear into the tower, into the flesh. He held her tighter. Something grumbled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, Six,” he mumbled into the back of her yellow raincoat. His arms were shaking. “I want to help you escape, but… I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>tired</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I can’t keep up. I’m sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Six slackened. She twisted in Mono’s grip, and so easily could escape. Mono looked at her through the circle holes of his bag, breath harsh and echoing in his ears.  She wiggled out of his arms to sit in front of him. Then she curled her legs up and rested her chin on her knees, staring intently at him. Sometimes he wished Six was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>little</span>
  </em>
  <span> more forthcoming with her thoughts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks,” Mono said, then passed out right there on the floor as the tower crumbled away once more.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Mono dreamed that his strides covered blocks, that buildings bent to his will and children scuttled like rats at his feet, fearing him for reasons he couldn't define. He dreamed of solitude so pervasive and painful that it darkened everything he saw, and rooted so deep in him he carried it with him everywhere.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When he jerked awake, he clutched at his chest and the lingering ache. Six - She was there, arms wrapped around her legs, and her face pressed to her knees. He couldn’t see her expression, but relief flowed through him, because she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>there</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He wasn’t alone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She hummed, so quietly that he almost didn’t hear it, but it was such a soothing reassurance of his company; it helped banish the last vestiges of his nightmares. Wait - “That’s the same tune as the music box, isn’t it?” Mono blurted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The noise stopped instantly. Six raised her head slightly, and he got the sense she was looking at him, but her hood shadowed far too much for him to read any expression.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why would you…” Mono trailed off when her fingers tightened to white-knuckled fists. Bolstering himself, “why would you want to hear that song?” He didn’t understand. It was the same song that had kept Six under some awful trance, right? Mono had to destroy that music box to save her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six stood abruptly. Every line of her body was tense, and she half turned as if to run away - again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait-“ Mono got up, too, holding out a hand that she didn’t take. “Six, please don’t run like that. I can’t - I can’t keep it up, and we need to think about where we’re going. We need to make a plan to get out of here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She kept her back turned, but didn’t run. Progress?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mono dared take a step closer. “I’m so sorry,” he uttered, recalling her words from - yesterday? He wasn’t sure how time worked in this Tower. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I hate you,</span>
  </em>
  <span> she had said. It stung deep in his heart every time he thought about that. “I wish I hadn’t grabbed you. I wish I had just fallen alone-“ Did he, though? The nightmare came back with a surge of physical pain, and he rubbed at his chest. “I wish we had both made it out,” he finally said, regretfully. “That my stupid hand didn’t slip-“</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six turned back suddenly, and he glimpsed bared teeth before she snarled, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Wanted</span>
  </em>
  <span> to drop you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She gestured above her, to a place that didn’t exist anymore, replaced by staring eyes and dim half-light. “Didn’t slip. Let go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everything in Mono shriveled. “You…” Now he remembered. How she hadn’t pulled him up right away, but instead given him a long, calculating look. Him falling hadn’t been an accident. It had been a decision. The accident was her falling with him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why?” he breathed in sheer disbelief. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six wasn’t done, not now that the truth was out. She stalked nearer, jamming her finger on his chest. “Trapped me, </span>
  <em>
    <span>caged</span>
  </em>
  <span> me - left me with nothing, not you, not freedom. Just music box. I was there for…” She emitted a hiss, unable to settle on the exact time, and continued angrily, “I grew up! </span>
  <em>
    <span>Trapped</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Then you destroy the only thing-“ she wrenched away from him, lips working like she had more hateful words to utter, but they never made it into sounds. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then trap me again. Hate you,” she settled on. “Hate the tower.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was the most she’d ever said at once to him, and she said it all because of how much she loathed him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’d… he’d never thought about that before, though. Not until now. There hadn’t been </span>
  <em>
    <span>time</span>
  </em>
  <span> to. He just… he’d found Six like that, and been so scared for her, he had to destroy the music box to save her. He hadn’t begun to think about her perspective. Had she really been there for so long?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tears pricked at his eyes. Shudders coursed up his spine. He knew most of what she spoke about were actions of the Thin Man: but he also knew he </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Thin Man. She’d learned that too, it seemed, soon as she got a good look at his face - or more importantly, his obsidian black eyes. He didn’t understand his older self, but the flashbacks to an old life, and even simply knowing a thing or two about the Thin Man, meant he could very easily see how he might go down a similar path. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He lingered on her words, though they seared every time he played them over. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I grew up. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Mono had thought the music box kept her enchanted in a strange form. Maybe it wasn’t the music box that had done that. Time worked differently, </span>
  <em>
    <span>weirdly</span>
  </em>
  <span> in the Tower. It may have only been a matter of hours that he lost Six in the real world, and then found her again in the TV one. But for Six… </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He envisioned her limbs slowly stretching, her hair growing, not all at once, but gradually. He thought of her fighting tooth and nail to escape, the way she always did, only to fail again and again, until her will was worn down that she’d rather spend all her time hunched over a music box. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” he gasped. As if it that meant anything. As if that would do anything to wipe away what he’d done to her. Well, - it may not have been </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span> exactly who had done that to her, but… if she hadn’t fallen with him, he would have again, wouldn't he? The cycle kept continuing, over and over. If she dropped him, and left him, he could see being suffocated by loneliness enough that he’d bring her back, keep her safe…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mono was sickened by his own thoughts. Deep down, he knew he was exactly what Six thought he was. He knew he was the Thin Man - if not yet, then he would be. No matter how many times he’d said he’d be different (and Mono sensed it was many, many times), he’d clearly never changed a thing. The course of actions had always been the same, over and over. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Yeah, maybe this time he had changed something, but not even on purpose, and probably only for the worse. Better that he be abandoned here than drag Six into this hell with him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re right,” he said painfully. “You’re right to hate me. I don’t deserve any better for what I did to you - what I keep doing - I don’t think I’m really - I’m really cut out to have friends at all,” his breath hitched and he screamed at himself. Keep it together. It was the least he could do. Having a breakdown in front of her - that didn’t help her at all. He’d fucked up so much already, she didn’t need him doing this now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He exhaled a shaky breath and forced himself to look at Six head-on. He was glad he had his paper bag. It was better to keep his face hidden, knowing what pain it could cause her. Knowing what he was. Nobody wanted to see that face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her angry expression had relaxed. Her head was tilted. She looked at him strangely, but not… not mad, anymore. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wish…” No. It was so hard to say that he wished she didn’t have to put up with him to get out of the Tower. Because selfishly, he wanted her here still. He feared the solitude. And he was terrified that, once they left the Tower, he was going to have to face it again. He was going to have to swallow the fact Six would leave him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mono grabbed his wrist so hard that his fingernails bit into the skin. It was for the best. He’d already told her that if she left after the Tower, he wouldn’t try to stop her. That statement was still true. It was her choice. He had to make that decision where the Thin Man wouldn’t. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wish we could find the end sooner,” Mono finally finished, teeth gritted. “I want to get you out of here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six stepped closer. Her silence and enigmatic expression meant he didn’t know what she was thinking, not even a little. She touched his hand, and he let her draw it away from his wrist. Tiny half crescents were left in their wake. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry,” Mono uttered. “I won’t… I won’t do that again.” He didn’t want to make her worry about him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before Six had a chance to respond, her expression twisted in pain and she hunched double. Was that - her stomach growling?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mono hadn’t felt hunger or thirst since entering the Tower himself, but Six was suffering bad based on the way she clutched her stomach. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you okay?” he asked worriedly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Need to eat,” she grunted when the sounds died down and she forced herself upright. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I...  I don’t know what there is to even eat here…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six hummed - it was that tune, again, the same that the music box made. Mono didn’t dare ask why this time. She looked around, from one blinking eye to the next (she stuck her tongue out at a few). Mono hesitated to follow her gaze. He didn’t like looking at them. They always seemed to do more than just look. They burrowed into him; they knew things about him, ugly things. The longer Six looked, though, the more he felt compelled to. With dread, he raised his head, and flinchingly stared at their large, staring pupils. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shuddered. They made him cold. They made him ache. Brought back half-recalled memories. About strides that covered blocks, about children scuttling like rats at his feet - and more than that, too. About waiting. Waiting. An eternity of waiting, while loneliness and insanity ate away at him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mono shook away those thoughts. Focus. Find Six food. Find an escape. Either one of those. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>To do that, they needed to navigate through more than just eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mono raised his hands again. Power gathered around his palms, and built up in his chest. It was faster to obey him now, as if it had a memory of his last attempt. The walls of eyes swelled outward and upward, and rearranged themselves into hard, smooth surfaces. Proper walls and ceilings, if not ones suitable to their size. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mono blinked in amazement. It had come so easily, that time. He could probably hold the Tower like this for longer even, too. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The power both unnerved and excited him. The longer he could hold the world like this, the better chances of getting Six out of here. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“C’mon,” he started to say, only to find Six already picking a path and running. Oh. Well. That way, then. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He ran after her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Doorway after doorway. Left right left left left right right left </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They crossed narrow ledges over gaping chasms, and Mono was paralyzed by the memory of falling. Six gripped his hand and pulled him along, giving him the courage he lacked. He tried not to be too happy about her touch, and failed, and then felt guilty about it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They ascended huge staircases, that lead nowhere, which left turned into nowhere, and then look, more nowhere. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They passed a room, a familiar one. Six stopped in the doorway, and gazed into it, biting her lip so hard that it drew blood. Mono gently pulled her past.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was beginning to despair of ever finding an exit (and was rethinking their methods) when Six hunched double again. He could actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>hear</span>
  </em>
  <span> her stomach growling, very loudly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Six,” he uttered worriedly, and came closer, reaching out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She snarled and shoved his hand away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When she raised her head, her teeth were bared, and she rasping unsteady breaths. Mono’s own breath froze in his chest. She didn’t look good. She looked… terrifying, actually, like she’d sooner rip out his throat than keep looking for food. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He took an uneasy step back, alarm bells ringing in his head. “Six…?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her expression twisted with another hunger pang. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This couldn’t be natural, right? Mono wasn’t even feeling hunger or thirst at all. And hunger didn’t normally manifest this badly… But what was wrong with her? Was it something else the Thin Man - Mono - had done? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just - just tell me what you need,” Mono pleaded, as if he had any means to help. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six’s head lifted further while her palms kneaded her stomach. She… Mono squinted. She started sniffing the air. Uhhh. He opened his mouth and then closed it, curious. Could she smell something? Was… was that something she was capable of? Testing, Mono gave the air a sniff, too. He couldn’t smell anything but the faint ozone-like tang of static. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Six gleaned something else from her sampling. Eyes glittering with determination, she selected a new door with purpose, and Mono followed warily. Maybe this was the key. Her… her new senses. They had to be new, right? She’d never shown any behavior like this before.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mono tugged at his sleeve and looked around. Eyes were beginning to bulge from the walls. Willfully he fought to keep them walls, as they should be, and won, for the moment. Six’s frame trudged in front of him. There was something wrong with her. But he was going to trust her. For as long as she needed a path ahead, he’d make one. </span>
</p>
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